Donated to AOSHS by the Berlin BRATs, Berlin American High School’s alumni group, the 12 ft. high, 4 ½ ton section of the Berlin Wall made its way from the East Coast to Wichita, Kansas, on a flatbed truck. The iconic piece of history arrived on August 1, 2005, and is currently located at the Museum of World Treasures in Wichita. Next to the Wall section on the exhibit is a life-size East German border guard in uniform, holding his Russian-made rifle.
An important factor in the authentication process of this section was the graffiti only existing on one side of the wall. The West facing side shows graffiti as anyone approaching the Eastern side would have been shot. The Berlin Wall’s graffiti is far from modern-day words or pictures we may see as images on this particular section of the wall suggest a deeper meaning.
As you look through the “hole” in the wall, you can see a kite. The string starts in the lower left corner and leads up to a red kite, partially obliterated by some of the paint. A tail hangs down from the kite with some cross-hatching on it. It is believed that the Berliners would send messages over the wall using kites such as those shown on this section of the Berlin Wall.
Many DoDDS teachers visited West Berlin and some even walked through Checkpoint Charlie, traveling from Technicolor to black and white. We are fortunate to have received this donation that represents such significant events in Berlin’s history.
To learn more about how the Wall came to the United States, about the Berlin Brats or AOSHS, please visit http://www.berlinbrats.org/wall.htm.
